Exit Interview – A Book Review and a Giveaway

When the rebellious Rasha Roy leaves the comfort of her home to pursue a career in journalism, little does she know of the challenges that lie in her path.

But she quickly discovers that life isn’t a bed of roses for young rookies – especially one with a mind of her own – despite her exceptional acumen for sniffing out stories.

As she moves from one job to another – first in India and then in Dubai – trying to make herself heard, she realizes that the companies’ exit interviews are all a sham. Those three short lines on the interview form are not enough to sum up her struggles. She cannot write about the sexual harassment she has faced at the workplace, the promotions she has missed because of nepotism and the trouble she has landed in for a shocking exposé.

But a chance encounter with a young woman at a police station in Cairo leads Rasha to stumble on to the biggest story of her life. Will this be the big break that she has been looking for? Or will this story too, like so many of her others, be sent to an early grave? Exit Interview is the captivating story of an ambitious young woman trying to find her place in an unforgiving world.

~Synopsis from the back of the book

What does reading this blurb tell you? For me, my eyes kind of fixated on that last paragraph about the young woman in Cairo, and I thought that was the meat of the book. Did reading this blurb give you the same impression?

Actually, that incident is just a small section of the book, and while it is important in that it helps to provide a resolution to the story, I went into the book waiting for the Cairo episode to indicate the actual start of the story, turns out it is an endnote to the book. Arghh! Misleading blurbs annoy me no end.

So What is the Story About?

Actually, the story front and center is about Rasha and her journalistic adventures. It encompasses her life from college days to her first jobs, and her various misadventures in the jobs she holds. There is also stuff about her family, and her love Arun.

But it is primarily about Rasha.

Which is a good thing because Rasha is an adorable and well-written character, the nice girl next door who is also ambitious and driven. The profession she is in, a journalist also makes for super-interesting reading. The author is a journalist for almost fifteen years, and the book reflects that knowledge. Everything about the newspaper setup, the journalist gossip, the late hours, and the hunt for scoops reads true, without being a snoozefest of an infodump.

Another thing I liked is the love story between Rasha and Arun. It’s written very well, very simply, and without melodrama. Arun is a great guy, who has his quirks, but is still good fun, and perfectly complements Rasha.

There is a certain point in the book when Rasha leaves Kolkata and goes to live with Arun in Dubai, which made me apprehensive. Was this book going to turn chick-lit on me all of a sudden? Was the romance going to take priority over career? Thankfully, the author doesn’t lose the plot here, and the romance takes on the role of a comfortable side plot, which is again a good thing.

So What Didn’t I Like About the Book?

I guess I missed the lack of a central story, something I went in expecting (thanks to that blurb). I do keep harping on it, don’t I?

However, when I look back on the reading experience overall, I enjoyed it very much, and didn’t feel that it was lacking anything.

An Exciting Giveaway From the Author

For a chance to win a copy of Exit Interview leave a comment on this post telling me what interests you about this book. Additional bonus points if you tweet or share this book review on your Facebook or Twitter. I”ll pick out a winner based on the best response on Aug 15.

Giveaway limited to India only.

Good luck! And huge thanks to Amrita Mukherjee for doing this giveaway on my blog.

Huge thanks also to Rupa Publishers for sending me this book for review consideration.

You can also purchase a copy of this book from Amazon